Okaloosa County BOCC — February 18, 2014 — Public Health Hero Okaloosa County

PUBLIC HEALTH HERO – OKALOOSA COUNTY Written by: Sarah White, Public Information Officer Lizzie Mae (Liza) Jackson, 1888-1971 Lizzie Mae (Liza) Jackson is widely regarded as a pioneer in Fort Walton Beach. An early resident of the fishing village known then as Camp Walton, Jackson and her first husband, lumber businessman, W.B. Harbeson, began spending weekends and summers there in 1915. Although she was a world traveler, Jackson said she loved Okaloosa County, and became a prime figure in the area’s development. Jackson was an avid community organizer and actively involved in numerous civic groups. In 1921 she founded the Woman’s Club, which set into motion a variety of programs that had a lasting impact on the community. Conscious of health and welfare needs in the community, the Woman’s Club enforced sanitation in the butcher shops, worked to eradicate fleas, dog flies and mosquitos, and hired a town constable whose primary duty was to keep flea-ridden livestock off the streets. “For several years, the only law enforcement was administered by the women of the Woman’s Club,” stated Jackson in a 1959 article in Playground Daily News. The women paid special attention to the health of underprivileged children, furnishing crutches and braces for those who were disabled, and providing eye examinations and glasses for those with vision problems. In 1930, the women set up a temporary clinic and brought in a physician from Pensacola to remove the tonsils of 25 children. Realizing the need for a permanent health clinic, the women voted to sponsor construction of a new clinic building in 1942, which Jackson helped to finance and organize. Upon completion of the building, the Woman’s Club furnished and maintained the clinic, which was used by the Okaloosa County Health Department for the next 18 years. In 1954, the Woman’s Club became aware of the need for a larger health clinic and began meeting with the County Commissioners to petition for a new building. Seven years later, the present Okaloosa County Health Clinic became a reality. Jackson’s work in public health didn’t end with the Woman’s Club; she also served as the Chairman for the Okaloosa Chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) and supported the Crusade of the Double Barred Cross to eradicate tuberculosis. Other notable accomplishments include working to organize the Fort Walton Beach Public Library, founding the Fort Walton Bank and developing housing for military personnel. It’s been more than 70 years since Jackson helped build the first county health clinic, but her legacy lives on today through the work of the employees of the Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County.